I learned to read from my grandmother's Addams Family collections. My plans to become a professional basketball player sadly stalled when I stopped getting any taller after seventh grade.

I've been a cop reporter, a city and county government reporter, a features columnist, a sports columnist, TV critic, an editor and a writer covering pop culture. Now I'm a movie critic. I think The Simpsons is the greatest TV show ever, Holy War is my favorite Matthew Sweet song and the Washington Redskins are my favorite team in all of sports. Harry Dean Stanton is always great, licorice never is. I've read Dracula more than once ("you are wise for one who has not yet lived a single lifetime"), and might again. I was an English major in college and love Faulkner and such, but my favorite book is Instant Replay by Jerry Kramer.

I don't know exactly when "The Simpsons" started doing short videos about topics of the day, but I am certainly glad they did.

You may remember the one in which Homer casts his vote. Funny stuff. Now they're back, with Mr. Burns explaining the fiscal cliff off of which we are evidently going to plummet. Best part: "It just makes sense."

Wouldn't it be cool if more shows did these one-offs? I'm sure contractual obligations and such would prevent a lot of it, but they sure are cool. Here's hoping "The Simpsons," at least, keeps it going.

It's hard enough to become a famous television personality once. Larry Hagman did it twice.

Hagman, 81, died Friday afternoon in Dallas, after a bout with cancer, according to the Dallas Morning News.

He first found fame on "I Dream of Jeannie," as the long-suffering Maj. Nelson, an astronaut who finds a bottle with a genie in it. Or, more to the point, a Jeannie, a beautiful woman played by Barbara Eden. The show debuted in 1965 and ran for five seasons. It isn't exactly a great series, but it's a fun one (the whole "Master" bit hasn't aged well). But Eden became a sex symbol (despite famously not being able to show her navel in her genie outfits) and Hagman one of the more-recognizable TV actors of the decade.

But "Dallas," which debuted in 1978, made Hagman a huge star. He played scheming oil baron J.R. Ewing with evident glee, making Ewing one of the all-time best TV characters. The show was melodramatic, over the top, the definition of a nighttime soap opera. This played beautifully into Hagman's hands, as he had a blast making J.R. so gleefully evil, delighting in his greed. And, of course, the "Who Shot J.R.?" cliffhanger at the end of the third season was a genuine pop-culture phenomenon. It's easily parodied all these years later, but at the time it was everywhere, on T-shirts, on magazine covers, on talk shows. When the fourth season finally began, the first episode, in which the shooter is revealed (it was Kristen Shepard, played by Mary Crosby, which was kind of a letdown), was, for a time, the most-watched show in television history. It's hard to think that any show could gain that kind of traction these days, with network viewership fragmented, though one wonders how long it would take Twitter to melt down if it had been around for the big reveal.

J.R. is clearly Hagman's best-known work, but in many ways I prefer Maj. Nelson. There is just something about his cool demeanor, the way he puts up with all the supernatural craziness, not blowing his top too often. It's an appealing character, not as showy as J.R., but truly, which one would you trust more to hold your wallet? (Hagman returned to the role of J.R. for the "Dallas" reboot on TNT.)

The other notable thing is how different the characters were. As in, very. They're nothing alike. J.R. would chew up and spit out the kind, decent Maj. Nelson in a minute and laugh while he did it (assuming Jeannie wasn't around to put a stop to it). Yet Hagman inhabited both roles equally well. That's the mark of a really good actor. Which Hagman was. (He was particularly good as a former cocaine-addicted governer in "Primary Colors.") He was just one of those actors you could sit back and enjoy, no matter what role he was playing. And for a time, not once but twice, millions and millions of people did just that. RIP.

All the 'tween girls are going to be hogging the seats at "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2," which means there should be plenty of room at the nearest showing of "Lincoln." And you should be in one of those seats. The movie is smart, it's suspenseful (yes, even if you know what happens) and all of this is true despite it being more about passage of the 13th Amendment than it is a biography of Lincoln. And, of course, Daniel Day-Lewis is flat-out great. (Tommy Lee Jones, whom I spoke with about the film, ain't bad, either.)

You can find my review here. And if you're impatient, or a family member or close relative of mine, hey, here I am on TV:

It's that time of year again, when studios finally trot out the movies they think are worthy of Oscar contention (the theory being that Academy voters have a short memory, which is probably a safe bet).

That's great for someone who has to watch them all. It's a lot more fun to watch a slew of really good movies than a whole bunch of bad ones. However, it also makes this the Pollyanna season for critics. It means in the coming weeks it will doubtless look as if I'm handing out stars like Christmas cookies.

Don't worry. I haven't gone soft. (There's always "Twilight," after all.) It's just that we're in the season of good movies again. By January I'll be back to my cranky old self again. That may have something to do with four kids being home on holiday break for two weeks, but not exclusively.

Meanwhile, it's back to the theater. Here's one I'm especially looking forward to.

I've told this story before, but here goes again.I love election night in a newsroom (or, now, watching coverage at home - still on deadline so that counts). This is a big reason why:The first election I covered was in NC. I was the night-cop reporter and I had some sheriff's race that was over before it began, so I spent the rest of the night watching everyone else. Betsi Simmons Robinson, who taught me how to be a cop reporter, was covering a U.S. House race. Her deadline was, as I recall, 2 a.m. (Those were the days.) It was a close race and no one called it till right before deadline. As the city editor yelled, "Send it send it send it!" Betsi just sat there and read, carefully, word by word, her story, seemingly oblivious to all else. When she was done, she hit the "send" button, smiled sweetly and said, "You got it" to the city editor -- who had been inches from her face while yelling for her to send it.

It was awesome. I've loved election coverage ever since. And can't wait to be part of it tomorrow.

In a moment of questionable parenting, I decided, ahem, to let my 9-year-old and 14-year-old watch "The Shining."

The reasoning was sound, at least in my head. They knew that "The Shining" is one of my favorite movies, and have begged me to see it for years. Finally, I had an idea: They would be so bored by the slower first hour that they would never make it to the second, scarier one.

Interesting theory. They sat through the whole thing. Now the 14-year-old hates Jack Nicholson and the 9-year-old will never be friends with twin girls, ever.

So it goes. But here is a can't-miss Halloween-themed idea, one that I can guarantee will be OK with your kids and with you: a double bill of "Frankenstein" and "Bride of Frankenstein" on the big screen, at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 30. Lots of local theaters are getting in on the act, including Harkins Arrowhead, Chandler Fashion Center, Scottsdale 101 and Superstition Springs.

James Whale directed both movies, which starred, of course, Boris Karloff as the monster. The 1931 original, in which Henry Frankenstein (Colin Clive) brings the creature to life, is great. (See the big moment below.) "Bride of Frankenstein," released in 1935, is even better. Both actors return for the sequel, and are joined by Elsa Lanchester, who plays both Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, who wrote the story on which the original film was based (the movie changed it a lot) and the monster's bride. Now that's an iconic haircut.

Again, the double bill starts at 7 p.m. Tuesday. Tickets are $9.50 for adults, $5.50 for kids and $6.50 for seniors.

And now, back to work. You know what they say. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.

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